Immortalis

Tong Xue 8

The subsequent events unfolded much as they had previously deduced.

After several undercover infiltrations into the Lu family using disguises, Yu Xiahe finally investigated thoroughly that it was indeed Lu Wenxiu who had poisoned Yu Dongxue, leading to Yu Dongxue's mysterious sudden death on the mountain.

As for the four missing sword attendants, in Lu Wenxiu's account, they were accomplices, yet for some reason, they vanished overnight. Lu Wenxiu, already guilt-ridden and weak-willed, was driven to madness by the fear.

After that, Old Master Lu, who knew his son might be involved, not only failed to delve deeper but also bribed the officials with silver, burying the truth that could have been uncovered once again.

Learning all this, Yu Xiahe felt years of resentment surge in her heart.

Yu Chaolin was dead, Yu Dongxue was dead too, and it was all because of that Lu Wenxiu, whom she had valued so highly!

Fine, she would make his entire family pay with their lives.

Yu Xiahe was extremely patient. She first settled in a nearby village, changed her appearance, and let the neighbors know she was an orphaned girl.

During this time, she frequently visited, worsening Lu Wenxiu's illness until the Lu family was exhausted and began seeking divine intervention.

Yu Xiahe disguised herself as a spirit medium and visited the Lu family, introducing the long-prepared "Yu Niangzi" to them. Everything went as she had planned—the Lu family gladly welcomed her as a bride. After that, Yu Xiahe, well-versed in medicinal properties and toxicology, used the family's Centipede Vine to poison the Lu family members one by one.

Initially, she thought she wouldn't feel any guilt for these actions. After all, Lu Wenxiu had killed her brother, and the Lu family had attempted to conceal the truth—an act that defied heavenly principles.

However, after truly becoming a member of the Lu family, the long-wandering Yu Xiahe unexpectedly discovered that the Lu family did not mistreat "Yu Niangzi" for being alone and destitute. Instead, they treated her like their own daughter, buying her many clothes and hairpins.

The hairpin now left in the chest was the one the madam had personally placed in her hair back then.

Yu Xiahe was not a soft-hearted person. The martial world had deceived her, Lu Wenxiu had betrayed her—no matter what, she would make his entire family accompany Yu Dongxue in death.

But the madam, who had placed the hairpin for her, kept saying even as she fell ill that she wanted to hold a grandchild. That night, Yu Xiahe sat silently under the lamp for a long time before finally gently blowing out the flame.

When she left the Lu family, both Lu Wenxiu and Lu Guanshan were already critically ill, and Yu Xiahe knew that the child in her womb was probably three months along.

She had to leave.

The following Qingming Festival, Yu Xiahe watched from afar as the old servants of the Lu family paid respects at the graves. She looked down; the child in her arms was sleeping soundly.

The child was utterly innocent. In the end, Yu Xiahe decided to leave a descendant for the Lu family.

Yu Chaolin's remains had yet to be found. Yu Xiahe knew that Yu Qiao would have no feelings for the father he had never met. She only hoped he would learn the Yu family's Cotton Needle Finger and, if she still hadn't unraveled the mystery of the Hero's Tomb, pass the heavy burden to Yu Qiao.

Finally, Yu Xiahe added that the Centipede Vine was what she used to poison the Lu family. Unwilling to pass it on to Yu Qiao, she let it vanish, leaving only the remaining human skin masks and the Cotton Needle Finger technique to Yu Qiao.

When Yu Qiao received this letter in the future, the Yu family of Huaishui would truly be in his hands.

After closing the letter, the expressions of the three turned grim.Shen Qingshi pondered the meaning of the accomplice mentioned in Yu Xiahe's story—this part wasn't detailed in her writing, perhaps because the sword servant had vanished, leaving her with no target for revenge even if she wished to seek it.

Yet one aspect was particularly intriguing.

Yu Dongxue had also died from a sudden high fever—according to the letter's description, the circumstances were nearly identical to Yu Xiahe's death.

Could it be that both Yu siblings were killed by the same poison?

A toxin undetectable by conventional autopsy methods was certainly no common substance. If both died from the same rare poison, did that imply the mastermind behind it was the same person?

Fifteen years later, what was the purpose of killing Yu Xiahe? Unless...

Shen Qingshi murmured softly, "It must be someone from Boundless Sword Manor. Only they would know that the events of fifteen years ago were about to resurface. Someone doesn't want the truth from back then to be uncovered."

Yu Qiao remained completely unaware of what was happening. Yang Wujian asked, "Before your mother fell ill, did anyone come to see her? For example, someone from Boundless Mountain?"

Yu Qiao thought carefully but shook her head. "No, the regular customers at mother's shop were all townsfolk—Uncle Wang, Aunt Qiao, and sometimes the innkeeper... When the innkeeper was lazy, he'd come buy pancakes from mother to serve with meat."

Yang Wujian sighed. "She resumed her original appearance after moving back to Westwind Town, probably thinking everything was settled and wanting to be closer to her brother... However, the people from Boundless Sword Manor had seen her that day. In other words, the fact that Yu Dongxue's sister was in Westwind Town might not have been a secret. But why wait until now to..."

The three couldn't figure out these questions, but what troubled them most at the moment was Yu Qiao.

Whoever poisoned Yu Xiahe clearly hadn't anticipated that she would document everything in letters to Yu Qiao... Fortunately, they had stumbled upon this letter by chance.

Now that the truth about the Lu family had come to light, Yu Qiao had nowhere to go. Yu Xiahe hadn't expected to pass away when her son was only seven.

Zhou Huai said helplessly, "If Boundless Sword Manor is responsible, sending him up the mountain is out of the question. I'd like to take him home, but my family rotates members every three months—it wouldn't help him to go there."

Come to think of it, she must have been about this age when Gu Yun found her.

For some reason, Yang Wujian suddenly recalled those distant memories of hunger.

If not for Gu Yun, if not for Longevity Palace, she would have starved to death on the streets long ago.

Yang Wujian looked at the bewildered Yu Qiao before her, hesitated for a long moment, then finally crouched down.

"Your mother left some words for you in her letter—we'll tell you later. As for where you'll go afterward, this sister knows a place, though it's quite far. But the people there are very kind—they'll make sure you're well-fed and teach you to read. How about it? Would you like to go?"

"Can... can I really go?"

Yu Qiao's eyes widened, his words eerily identical to what she had said when Gu Yun first spoke to her.

Yang Wujian couldn't help but laugh, ruffling his hair again. "For now, you'll stay with us at the inn. Let this Brother Zhou—the nobleman your mother possessed—treat you to meals. When everything is settled, I'll send someone to fetch you."Afterwards, the three brought Yu Qiao back to the inn, first assigning him to serve as Zhou Huai's attendant for a few days. Zhou Huai never brought servants when traveling and often forgot to prepare dry food in advance. In this regard, even Yu Qiao might have been better at taking care of himself.

"What comes next will likely require going up the mountain to investigate."

By evening, the three gathered for a meal. Due to the earlier "possession" incident, Yu Qiao had grown particularly attached to Zhou Huai, staying close by his side to pour tea.

"You're so attentive, young man, I'm almost reluctant to let you go."

It had been some time since Zhou Huai had been waited on like this after leaving home. He couldn't help but ask, "Miss Yang, where exactly are you planning to send him? What kind of distant yet good place could it be? Surely you're not sending him beyond the pass, are you? The Northern Desert is a barren land with few decent people."

"What are you thinking?"

Yang Wujian was studying the pieces of human skin left behind by Yu Xiahe.

Genuine human skin like this had become quite rare nowadays. Apart from a few major sects and masters of disguise, no one used it anymore.

Come to think of it, it might fetch a decent price on the black market.

She chuckled, "But I do have some distant relatives who've never had children. If they learned a son had fallen from the sky, they'd be overjoyed."

Yang Wujian had made this up casually, but Shen Qingshi, who had been silently drinking cold tea, suddenly looked up: "Didn't you say earlier that you're a descendant of the Crescent Moon Blade?"

"That's right."

Yang Wujian had long memorized every detail of her false identity: "Where do you think I got these Golden Rings? That year at the Hero's Tomb..."

"Your relatives died at the Hero's Tomb, so why did you show no reaction when you saw Yu Xiahe's letter?"

Abruptly, Shen Qingshi threw this question at her, his emotionless eyes staring straight through her as if trying to bore a hole through her face.

This person...

Yang Wujian's heart skipped a beat, finally realizing what Shen Qingshi suspected.

Yu Chaolin had also died at the Hero's Tomb. If she were truly a descendant of the Crescent Moon Blade, seeing this place should have elicited some emotional response regardless.

Thinking quickly, Yang Wujian immediately forced a bitter smile: "How do you know I had no reaction? When the Crescent Moon Blade was passed to me, do you know how long I cried?"

As she spoke, her eyes reddened, genuinely looking as if she might burst into tears at any moment. Having been fooled once before, Zhou Huai hurriedly reached for a handkerchief but accidentally knocked over the freshly poured tea that Yu Qiao had just served. The scalding water instantly splashed onto the pieces of human skin beside Yang Wujian's hand.

"They can't get wet!"

Yu Qiao moved swiftly, ignoring the burning heat as he immediately scooped up the human skin. He added, "My mother said that masks made from real human skin are extremely rare. Through secret methods, they can even fuse with one's skin. But you must be careful not to let them get wet."

"Why?"

Zhou Huai didn't understand.

"Because human skin wrinkles easily when wet. That's why you need to keep it dry when not wearing it, and be especially careful about moisture around the nose and mouth when wearing it... Particularly the mouth area - the opening is larger there with more movement, already prone to wrinkling. If it gets wet, it probably won't last long!"

"You're quite knowledgeable for someone so young."

Zhou Huai hadn't expected there to be so much complexity involved. He thought to himself that if this boy trained properly in martial arts, he could achieve great things in the future.He laughed and said, "Speaking of which, your mother wanted you to visit the Hero's Tomb someday to retrieve your grandfather's remains... Kid, if that day ever comes, you can come find me. My home is right next to the Hero's Tomb—I have many things I want to investigate about that place too."

"Zhou Huai, with your meager courage, you still want to go to the Hero's Tomb? Do you know how many people have died in there?"

Yang Wujian, afraid that Shen Qingshi would press further, quickly changed the subject. Just as she was bantering with Zhou Huai, a sword attendant suddenly entered the inn and approached the three of them, raising his hands in a respectful salute.

"Young heroes, it has been two days since you descended the mountain. Uncle Dong heard that you still had some questions about the back mountain and sent me to find you. He said he has been busy entertaining guests from the Four Seas Alliance these past two days and had no time to speak with you in detail. But today, all matters are settled. If the three of you are free, you may return to the Sword Manor. He will personally explain everything about the back mountain to you."